Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Homestead, Florida 33030
Friday, March 9, 2012 10:34 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During cruise flight at 6,000 feet mean sea level (msl), the airplane's engine incurred a total loss of power. The flight instructor and the private pilot looked for a suitable place to land. Their first choice was an airport, but due to the prevailing wind, they were unable to make it to the airport. Their second choice was a highway, but it also proved to be unsuitable due to the amount of automobile traffic. As they descended through 2,000 feet msl, they considered deploying the Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS) but noticed a light colored patch of ground, which appeared to be a hard dirt surface; they thought landing there would be a better option than deploying the CAPS. During the final approach, while in ground effect, the flight instructor observed a mound of dirt that was directly in front of the airplane, and he deployed 50-percent wing flaps to "balloon" the airplane over the obstacle. The wheels touched down on a water-filled marshy area, and the airplane slid over a mound of dirt and came to rest in the marshy area.
A review of onboard recorded data showed that fluctuations of the No. 2 cylinder's exhaust gas temperature were present beginning at engine start. Examination of the engine revealed that the engine had a hole in the top of the crankcase and that both magnetos had separated from their mounting locations. Further examination of the engine revealed that the No. 2 connecting rod bearing had been starved of oil and released from the crankshaft. The No. 2 main bearing had shifted and the lock slot in the crankcase was damaged, which indicated that the crankcase through bolts were not properly torqued. The No. 2 main bearing was fractured, and portions were missing from the steel backing, and the No. 2 and No. 3 piston pin bushings were also missing bushing material, which indicated that, during maintenance, a service bulletin had not been complied with. Review of the manufacturer's overhaul schedule also revealed that the recommended time between overhauls was 2,000 hours. At the time of the accident, the engine had accrued 2,978.1 total hours of operation without overhaul.
Review of the airplane and engine manufacturers guidance also revealed that because engine cooling was accomplished by discharging heat to the oil in the engine the engine should not be operated with less than 6 quarts of oil. The flight instructor however, stated that he added oil to the engine during the preflight to bring it up to 5 quarts. He also advised that was the level they always serviced it to, which indicated that in addition to the engine having been inadequately maintained, the engine was also continuously operated below the minimum specified oil level.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadequate servicing and maintenance of the engine and the airplane owner and maintenance personnel's disregard of the manufacturer's recommended engine overhaul schedule and service bulletins, which resulted in an in-flight internal failure and seizure of the engine.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/9/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1034 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Homestead |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33030 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 251948N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0802240W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1055 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 315 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HST |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 6 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 20 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 110 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.2 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31505 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 27 2013 11:22AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N444VR |
| NTSB Number | ERA12LA219 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CIRRUS DESIGN CORP |
| Aircraft Model | SR22 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0788 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 20 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2888 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | N444VR LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1290 Weston Road. Suite 218 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Weston |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33326-1909 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | N444VR LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Weston |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33326-1909 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | OPF |
| Departure City | Miami |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1000 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | EYW |
| Destination City | Key West |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 25 2013 4:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |